Instagram has seen an increase in popularity over the years. According to Statista, as of January 2019, U.S. was the first in rank with 120 million active Instagram users. Coming second was India with 75 million users.
The Instagram Stories feature was introduced in August 2016, which is a great platform to showcase your music. For musicians, whether established or not, social media is an excellent way to ensuring your fans listen to your music.
You know how promoting your music can be a challenge, and you need it to reach to masses of people.
How to use Instagram stories to promote your music
- Have a behind the scenes
As a musician, you need to choose to keep your account private or public. However, if you upload anything on Instastories and your account is private, only people who are following you get to see what you post. You’d be surprised at how many people are interested when it comes to a behind the scenes sort of thing.
Consider showing a glimpse of what happens when you are making music, the rehearsals for a concert and such. The idea is to make your followers feel like insiders. With such, you seem more humanly which makes them identify with you and want to listen to your music.
- Using it to drive people to your website
As a musician, it is important to consider developing a site to showcase your talent and inform people of album launches or any new music available.
How can you do that on Instagram? Gone are the days when the only link that was clickable was one on your ‘bio.’ Now, you can add a link on your Story. When editing your Story, click the link icon on the top, and it lets you add which prompts people to go to the link.
If you have new music, add a link to where it’s accessible and let fan have the choice of listening to it.
- Use polls to involve your fans
The advantage of being a musician is that people listen to music as passion, art or just relax. There is a feature on Instagram Story that helps you create a poll. Instant feedback is excellent for your career especially if you want the fans to feel involved or you need serious advice on some decision you are about to make.
Customize the responses to get more accurate feedback. For example, you could ask, “where do you guys want me to tour next, Bali or Hawaii?” After a few hours, you’ll see responses and make a final decision on it.
After posting, swipe up when viewing your Story to see the poll results.
Polls give people a chance to participate and feel they have an impact on your life. This makes you more ‘human’ as your fans know that their opinion matter. It is an excellent way of winning more followers and getting to have your music out there.
- Cross-promotion
The number of YouTube users is expected to be at 1.86 billion by 2021. As a musician, having a YouTube channel is almost mandatory. After all, this is one of the strategies that will make you get booked for shows and get signed by top record labels.
Have you recently released a new song on your YouTube channel? Market it through a Story. Add the link to it and have a short video encouraging people to watch it and let you know what they think about it.
Also, you could have a link to your store so that they can purchase. Use hashtags as well so that people can easily find your music by all means.
- Tell a Story
Simply put, do a video telling your Story. People love short stories. Try and identify with your audience and give your viewers information. For example, you could explain how you ventured into music, when and what aspirations you have. Make it as real as possible. For example, you can be vulnerable in a positive way like how you had to look for finances for your music and tell people how you had to look for a place that you’re guaranteed to get a loan with bad credit. Finances are usually a major concern when promoting your music.
Ensure that every piece that’s there is helpful. Knowing your background could help your viewers understand you and your music better. This increases the chances of them liking your music and recommending it to their friends.
- Try to answer questions asked
You can set a day of the week either once or twice to answer questions from your fans. Have them inbox you and you can answer their questions and put the answers on Stories. First, this shows you value your fans, and at the same time, it is a great way to put facts to your music career.
As much as traditional marketing is still a great way to market yourself, incorporating Instagram Stories is a great way to expand your music career. Consider implementing the above ideas and get a chance to see real results.
